The Woolliscrofts arrive
In November 1983 we packed our bags (including our pianola and our cat!) and moved into Ford Green Hall, the Grade II* listed farmhouse museum. We left our newly-built, warm and comfortable detached house in Werrington. We knew what we were letting ourselves in for!
Various rooms throughout the Hall were allocated to us as our living quarters.
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| Ground floor |
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| First floor |
Our rooms shown in blue text on the plans. Click on the image to make it easier to read. Many thanks go to the management of today's Ford Green Hall for these floor plans which have been altered slightly to show how it was in 1983.
The curator's rooms were in a sorry state when we arrived and needed a lot of work and redecoration. But, undeterred, and with lots of help from friends and family, we set about making them homely and comfortable. The owners of the Hall at the time, Stoke-on-Trent city council, gave us no help.
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| Moving in Our living room, now the café. Terry's dad, Len, with Pam, getting stuck in, stripping wallpaper, painting and decorating Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: Nov 1983 |
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| Moving in Our kitchen, now the café. Pam's dad, Rowland, cleaning and re-grouting the tiling, improving and insulating the plumbing. Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: Nov 1983 |
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| Our living room looking a little more lived in Now the café. Photo: Terry Woolliscroft Collection Date: December 1983 |
Settling in
As I settled into the role of resident curator much interest was generated in the local press. This was the start of a new era in the history of the Hall.
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| Pam. Resident Curator Evening Sentinel 20 Jan 1984 |
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| Evening Sentinel 20 January 1984 |
A job to do
It is fair to say that the museum had been neglected. Its structural condition and its collections and displays needed attention. So too was the need to actually encourage visitors to come in and look around!
As the only member of staff, and very much left on my own, I was determined to do something about it. It was steep learning curve for me as my previous museum roles had been at Gladstone Pottery Museum and Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum.
I set about raising the profile of the Hall and identifying and creating plans for action in areas for improvement.
I also encouraged local teenagers to come inside and have a look around and even have a play of our pianola. It was great fun for them but we had a motive. We wanted them to think that the Hall was theirs and should be saved and protected from vandals. It seemed to work.